I've taken the liberty of attaching a .tar.gz file containing a .3ds model of
a BAC-TSR2, a yasim config file based on the correct figures (where I could
find them) and the -set.xml and model.xml files to fly it.
I'm primarily a 3d'er and originally did the TSR2 for a picture I'm working
on but when I got fgfs running (Debian Linux) I couldn't resist loading it in
and trying to get it to fly. The model was created in Realsoft3D and
exported as .3ds.
I've been able to tag the various sub-objects, to animate them but the export
process appears to 'flatten' any object hierarchy I set up and I'm guessing
this is necessary for sequential animations - I couldn't set up the correct
sequential rotations to properly bring the main u/c in. Also, in real life,
there are several other u/c doors that should open and close in sequence to
get the gear in and apparently the sequence was quite complex.
On the ground though, it is as shown (so I didn't need to model the extra
doors for my picture anyway;)
It could do with some airbrakes too, both for the model and for the fdm. As
with the extra u/c doors, I didn't need them for the picture and they haven't
been modelled.
As well as not being able to preserve object hierarchies when I export from
Realsoft3D's native object format to .3ds, I'm not able to preserve textures
or colour-mapping either, so the aircraft appears all white.
Hopefully, someone might like to add the extra doors and airbrakes, which
shouldn't be too difficult, and put some texturing on it - mostly white
anyway, for the prototypes, or a contemporary RAF scheme if someone wants to
pretend that it entered service.
The yasim fdm model, as said, cannot be regarded as accurate. However, while
it is based on the specs for the real aircraft, where I could find them, the
measurments are probably only accurate to about 1 metre. That's assuming I
was measuring the right things in the first place;) Other bits that I wasn't
sure about i.e. flaps, ailerons etc. have been hacked out of the a4 or the
747.
It could do with some 'refinment' by people who know what they're doing, but
it seems to fly about right, or rather, as I'd imagine:) (me want a
forward-looking ski-toe terrain avoidance radar:)
Anyway, I'm happy for the whole lot to be released under the same licence and
conditions as the rest of the fgfs stuff, either as a part of fgfs or by
anyone else who will also follow those same licence and condition terms.
I've also got a reasonable yasim b52 flying but no moveable bits on the model
yet, a vulcan with a similar simple 3d model using a grossly hacked c310
jbsim fdm (right numbers where I could find them but powered by a couple of
XLRs) and a Saunders-Roe SR45 Princess flying boat model and yasim fdm (can't
get it into the air with propellors but substituting equivilent jets (2.5x
factor) got it flying. I've started on a EE/BAC Lighting FMk6 model but I'll
probably be doing a Fairchild A-10 and an Antonov An-225 first.
I figure this is the best way I can contribute to the fgfs project, and l'd
like to be able to offer something.
Make the plane much sloppier at high alpha and/or with the flaps
extended. In slow flight, there's much more lateral instability now,
and adverse yaw is more obvious at the start of a turn using only
ailerons.
activated with the mouse, but they do respond to the following
properties:
/controls/lights/taxi
/controls/lights/landing
/controls/pitot-heat
/controls/lights/navigation
/controls/lights/beacon
/controls/lights/strobes
- yokes
- carb heat
- throttle
- mixture
- flap switch
- trim wheel
Moved the pilot seat back slightly.
Use LOD more aggressively, so that all the interior detail is skipped
when the viewer is distant.
the root PropertyNode element. For example,
--aircraft=c172
is now an alias for
--aircraft=c172r
which is an alias for
--aircraft=c172r-jsbsim
All JSBSim *-set.xml files have been renamed to include 'jsbsim'
explicitly in their names; the ones without 'jsbsim' are now aliases
to the default, whatever that may be.
Here are some new, simpler aircraft identifiers:
--aircraft=cub
--aircraft=747
--aircraft=sopwithCamel
--aircraft=c310-3d
and so on.
This system allows users to create new *-set.xml files by overriding
parts of existing ones rather than by cut-and-paste.
- makes instrument knobs turn at a realistic rate
- removes redundant <min> and <max> specifications*
- corrects the indentation to reflect nesting depth
- corrects some descriptive names
* E.g. if the gyro compass heading is 365, there's no point clamping the
value to 360 before drawing it. Just using the given value is more
likely to be right - or, if it's wrong, at least we won't hide the bug.
button) modes. Due to a typo in altimeter.xml, one direction of
adjustment with the left mouse button was giving fast changes.
Simple patch attached.
- Julian
implement them for the C172P 3D model. Look near the top of
preferences.xml for an example. The recognized properties are as
follow, with vanilla defaults in parentheses:
/sim/view/config/default-field-of-view-deg (30)
/sim/view/config/default-pitch-deg (0)
/sim/view/config/front-direction-deg (0)
/sim/view/config/front-left-direction-deg (45)
/sim/view/config/left-direction-deg (90)
/sim/view/config/back-left-direction-deg (135)
/sim/view/config/back-direction-deg (180)
/sim/view/config/back-right-direction-deg (225)
/sim/view/config/right-direction-deg (270)
/sim/view/config/front-right-direction-deg (315)
These are particularly useful for the view from inside a 3D aircraft
model.
twice the design size (character height) of the old one.
Advantages:
- displays . and : correctly with less space around, and digits
with more space around (using Andy's improvements to plib)
- small text becomes much more legible (-> clock, AP-altitude)
- the font contains pretty much every character that can be
displayed on a seven segment display, so it might be more
useful for future instruments.
the electrical system added so the night lighting works (hey
I do most of my flying at night).
I also added archive flags to some properties as per
c172-set.xml.
Reshaped interior to match photos, with covered luggage bin behind
second seat.
Added more triangles to the panel to round it out.
Moved viewpoint to match up better with seats.
suggestions from Cameron Moore. The pilot view position is now
further back, further to the left, and higher, giving better
visibility over the nose and out the left window for circuits and low
passes (i.e. to see the wind sock). The initial view angle is down
20%. Unfortunately, the default FOV is slightly wide-angle, and the
down view makes that noticeable.
It's a little funky to use right now because
the FRQ and timer buttons should be momentary action.
As it stands you need to do 2 clicks to send on/off.
If anybody can think of a workaround, we could use one.
For now the ADF and BFO buttons just toggle the
annunciators. For ANT mode, I just need to wire up the
ADF needle.
Two clicks on FRQ flip flops the selected and standby
freqs.
Two clicks of FLT/ET will change the standby display
to timer mode and another two will flip between
FLT and ET. If you click and the annunciator flashes
briefly but the display does not change, you need
to click FRQ -one time- to get the button in phase.
ET mode has a count down mode, this is where it really gets tricky.
On the real thing, you hold the SET/RST button for 2 seconds.
Here you must click one time, wait for the display to flash then
click one more time. Now you can set the time to count down.
Right clicking the dial will set minutes, middle click (I know,
I'll make it a keyboard modifier later) sets hours. As usual
the left side decreases and right side increases.
Once you have the desired time set, click the SET/RST button
twice in rapid succession. Two rapid clicks will reset the
elapsed timer when it's counting down, but also while you are
setting it (when display is flashing).
When the count down timer reaches zero, it starts counting up again.
It -should- flash for 15 seconds and set off a warning tone, but
for now it doesn't.
The unit is also equipped with an on/off/volume knob. Whne the
unit is powered down the timers are reset.
TODO:
Add labeling
Wire up ADF needle
Prettier face
except that it has a full screen panel with only the 9 'major' 3 inch
instruments plus four 2 inch engine monitoring instruments. This is intended
to go along with a hardware cockpit "someday."
aircraft that do not have 3d cockpit configured. Toggling is done with the
"c" key. Note also that for now, since the 3d models don't have a "small"
panel defined, the "s" key is disabled if "allow-toggle-cockpit" is true.
These are the updates for the View manager properties. Removed the last of
items (within the viewer/viewmgr) hard coded to view number. Added support
for per view configuration of ground level nearplane value. Tower views look
very nice with little or no z-buffer problem in the models. Pilot offset
dialog can be used to move eye in all views.
This is sufficient to keep the wings level in cruise at 3000 ft, 2200
RPM; the value will have to change as we make changes to the model.
Note that a stock Cessna 172 does not have an aileron-trim wheel
inside the cockpit; to set the trim, you actually bend a sheet of
metal by hand when the plane is on the ground.
Andy's virtual-panel support. This will give a first taste of flying
with a 3D cockpit, but there are many caveats:
1. Clicking on the instruments doesn't work (waiting for a fix from
Andy).
2. The instruments rotate with the 3D cockpit but they don't tilt with
it (also waiting for a fix from Andy).
3. The orientation is incorrect when the view is not straight-forwards
and the plane is not flying level (waiting for a fix from me, but I
don't understand matrix math well enough).
4. The 3D interior is fairly ugly right now.
and renaming /sim/sound to /sim/sound/audible. So far, there are
sound config files only for the C172, C182, and C310; we'll have to
add them for other aircraft.
Since a while I get a line of black pixel garbage below the labels "WL" and
"ALT" on the autopilot. Does anybody else see this? (Or is it a feature of
my graphics card? :-) The following patch fixes this for me.
Jim sez:
This file contains the xml and updated rgb for an APR button on the
autopilot. It can be used to lock on to the glide slope on an
ILS aproach.
As it stands now the NAV locks onto the NAV1 localizer and the APR locks
on to the NAV1 GS (if it exists). I think (and I'm not quite sure) that on a
real autopilot (like the KAP-140) the NAV button will lock on to VOR signals
and the APR is used for locking to localizer/ils for both axiis. But without
having a manual and knowing exactly how this should work, and making further
changes to the autopilot code, this slight modification will make it easier to
lock onto a glideslope on approach.
